A lifelong movie buff puts his knowledge and passion on paper to show you the best films of his favorite movie genre, Coming of Age. The author highlights some of the finest acting, the most poignant moments, and the funniest gags in movies about growing up, reflecting each decade of American culture since the beginning of film-making, while illustrating the ageless turbulence and confusion of adolescence.

A lifelong movie buff puts his knowledge and passion on paper to show you the best films of his favorite movie genre, Coming of Age. The author highlights some of the finest acting, the most poignant moments, and the funniest gags in movies about growing up, reflecting each decade of American culture since the beginning of film-making, while illustrating the ageless turbulence and confusion of adolescence.

Forrest Gump meets Woody Allen in this endearing story about a sea turtle seeking to be reunited with the love of his life. When Akela is separated from his migrant soulmate, Kalea, he will do anything to be reunited with her. Journey with this charming and neurotic sea turtle as he crosses paths with celebrities, politicians, and other moments in history with unbreakable determination to be reunited with his love.

This book provides coverage of the diversity of Australian film and television production between 2000 and 2015. In this period, Australian film and television have been transformed by new international engagements, the emergence of major new talents and a movement away with earlier films’ preoccupation with what it means to be Australian. With original contributions from leading scholars in the field, the collection contains chapters on particular genres (horror, blockbusters and comedy), Indigenous Australian film and television, women’s filmmaking, queer cinema, representations of history, Australian characters in non-Australian films and films about Australians in Asia, as well as chapters on sound in Australian cinema and the distribution of screen content. The book is both scholarly and accessible to the general reader. It will be of particular relevance to students and scholars of Anglophone film and television, as well as to anyone with an interest in Australian culture and creativity.

From Santa Claus to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, from Uncle Sam to Uncle Tom, here is a compelling, eye-opening, and endlessly entertaining compendium of fictional trendsetters and world-shakers who have helped shape our culture and our lives. The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived offers fascinating histories of our most beloved, hated, feared, and revered invented icons and the indelible marks they made on civilization, including: # 28: Rosie the Riveter, the buff, blue-collar factory worker who helped jump-start the Women's Liberation movement # 7: Siegfried, the legendary warrior-hero of Teutonic nationalism responsible for propelling Germany into two world wars # 80: Icarus, the headstrong high-flyer who inspired the Wright brothers and humankind's dreams of defying gravity . . . while demonstrating the pressing need for flight insurance # 58: Saint Valentine, the hapless, de-canonized loser who lost his heart and head at about the same time # 43: Barbie, the bodacious plastic babe who became a role model for millions of little girls, setting an impossible standard for beauty and style

Behold the history of a film so scandalous, so outrageous, so explosive it disappeared from print for over a quarter century! A film so dangerous, half its cast and crew met their demise bringing eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes’ final cinematic vision to life! Starring All-American legend John Wayne in full Fu Manchu make-up as Mongol madman Genghis Khan! Featuring sultry seductress Susan Hayward as his lover! This is the true story of The Conqueror (1956), the worst movie ever made. Filmed during the dark underbelly of the 1950s—the Cold War—when nuclear testing in desolate southwestern landscapes was a must for survival, the very same landscapes were where exotic stories set in faraway lands could be made. Just 153 miles from the St. George, Utah, set, nuclear bombs were detonated regularly at Yucca Flat and Frenchman Flat in Nevada, providing a bizarre and possibly deadly background to an already surreal moment in cinema history. This book tells the full story of the making of The Conqueror, its ignominious aftermath, and the radiation induced cancer that may have killed John Wayne and many others.

Of all crimes, murder fascinates the public more than any other. While considered a detestable act, for which society reserves its severest punishments, homicide still captivates the American public. But the way homicide and its investigation are depicted in our media fail to capture just how murders get solved. Here, Snow takes us on a tour of murder, its investigation, and its prosecution from the perspective of a seasoned homicide detective. From the commission of the crime to the collection of evidence, examination of the crime scene, roundup of suspects, interrogation, and resolution, he leads readers from the scene to the courtroom, stopping along the way to consider all the elements that go into a murder investigation. He considers the culprits, the motives, the victims and their families, and offers readers a glimpse into the actual techniques and methods used to solve real crimes. This volume will fascinate and inform anyone interested in knowing the truth behind the scene of the crime of murder.